Characteristics of Wipers and Swabs for Pharmaceutical Applications

The manufacture of pharmaceuticals requires clean processing. Wipers are used to remove contaminants, such as chemical films, microbiological entities, and nonbiological particles, by wiping the walls, tables, and equipment and to inhibit biological activity by applying disinfectants. Cleaning protocols can be validated using clean swabs for sampling and sensitive instrumentation for quantification. The characteristics of wipers and swabs suitable for these purposes are explored.